Reela Ouragan Clavier - too far gone?

[condense]

I bought this on eBay as I love the look of these sets. I knew it was a risk but this is very much a “barn find” and there are 2 significant issues from my limited expertise... I should add there is no schematic although I have found one that someone made for a similar model.

Ok firstly the speaker cone has perished entirely - I don’t know if it is possible to repair or what I would replace it with.
Secondly the aerial windings are broken - again I am not sure if that would be an easy repair?

As usual the caps need doing and a valve has smashed...
So I am wondering about doing up the box and creating a Bluetooth speaker instead so it would get some life...

If the 2 jobs are easier than I think then please let me know - I am still a beginner

I would welcome any advice please

[vinrads]

Some pictures would be nice . Mick.

[condense]

Sorry I thought I had uploaded them

[Andrewausfa]

Hi,

For the circuit, have you checked our French compatriots site?

https://www.doctsf.com/reela-ouragan-59-clavier/f21871

Andrew

[Herald1360]

The two specific problems shouldn't be too difficult to repair unless you want original looks over everything else.

The speaker is a standard 3-4ohm permanent magnet type and could be replaced by almost anything that would fit or even by making an adaptor panel to mount a smaller or elliptical speaker in the set.

The aerial coils can have extension wires added to reach their connection points as long as the broken ends are long enough, particularly at the "inner" end- the odd turn can be unwound at the outer end without upsetting the tuning noticeably. If this isn't possible, you could count the turns off as you unwind each coil and hand wind the same number of turns of new wire in the same places on the rod with suitable end lengths to be terminated as required though you might need to realign the aerial tuning after doing this.

You've nothing to lose by having a go- you can't make the set worse than it already is!

[vinrads]

Ah !the French mice have been busy again ,it looks like one I had from France where the mice had eaten the speaker cones and nibbled the wiring ,you will need a speaker ,that shouldn't be a problem , like wise the coil on the ferrite rod ,in short it is repairable , what is the cabinet like . Mick.

[G6Tanuki]

Before deciding on doing a restore, check the continuity of the IF transformer windings: There's a possibility that poor storage has caused 'green spot' corrosion somewhere, and if an IFT has an open coil then it could make a restoration really problematic.

Same goes for the mains transformer. You're unlikely to come across another set to use for parts!

[Herald1360]

The transformers in a lot of French sets of the period are pretty similar, so maybe a spot of éventration could be possible.

[Refugee]

It looks like someone has already had a go at fixing it.
The baffle looks very new but with the vacant speaker basket screwed to it.
Is all of the aerial rod still there. It is hard to tell from the photo.
The speaker transformer will also need to be tested.
I would just connect a good speaker to the transformer and dab the primary with a diode tester. Yes you do hear a good click on the speaker if you do this.

[Graham G3ZVT]

The roughly cut hardboard baffle features on the Radio museum's specimin too, I'm sure it's original.

[vinrads]

Originally Posted by Refugee

It looks like someone has already had a go at fixing it.
The baffle looks very new but with the vacant speaker basket screwed to it.
Is all of the aerial rod still there. It is hard to tell from the photo.
The speaker transformer will also need to be tested.
I would just connect a good speaker to the transformer and dab the primary with a diode tester. Yes you do hear a good click on the speaker if you do this.

I think you will find the baffle like the speaker is original ,and as I said mice had eaten away the cone , and other insulation material,Mick.

[condense]

Thank you for all your help

I have checked resistances on the mains transformer and it seems to be intact ( please forgive my inexperience if I am doing this wrong.

The speaker transformer isn’t giving me anything though.
I would have thought (please correct me) that I would get some reading across the blue and red wire inputs? And also across the 2 greenish wire outputs? I’m getting nothing...
Am I approaching this correctly please ?

[Refugee]

Not getting a reading on the output terminals of the speaker transformer is a bit odd. It looks rusty enough for the primary to be open circuit.
The rats have taken all of the speaker cone though.

[vinrads]

Hi I agree it is unusual for the secondary to go open circuit, but if the primary is oc the transformer needs replacing , anyway.thinking about it I had to replace the one in mine, Mick.

[Refugee]

I would be tempted to do a sanity check on the meter probes and the contact with the corroded lead outs just in case.

[condense]

Thank you all for your wise advice ...
i rechecked it multiple times and rubbed off some corrosion before checking - I think it is ok now - my fault I should have been more rigorous before reaching that conclusion
I’ve also checked the IF windings too and they appear intact.

So in summary I hope this now may be salvageable. Does anyone know where I can get a suitable replacement speaker. The current one is 6.5in and there is no spare space so probably should go a little smaller.

[vinrads]

I have one dia is 170mm I am sure you will be able to squeeze that in , it reads 5 ohms should be ok , as I would like to see you get it working , It's yours for free, just pay me postage , if you want it PM me with your address . Mick.

[condense]

Thank you Mick
Here it is in situ - very good fit
next job the aerial I think

[AmateurRepairer]

Looks easy fix to me, my PYE VHF2D was a lot worse!